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racism & xenophobia
South Africa: ‘De Klerk must retract comment’
2012-05-14, Issue 584
Former president FW de Klerk must retract comments he made in a CNN interview, the Council for the Advancement of the SA Constitution (Casac) said on Saturday. 'Casac condemns in the strongest terms the reckless attempts by former president FW de Klerk to justify and defend the apartheid system,' it said in a statement. 'The very notion of 'separate development' was at the centre of the apartheid ideology, and was predicated on notions of racist supremacy as was Nazism.'
Trayvon Martin is all of us
Demand Obama institute a National Plan of Action for Racial Justice to end the epidemic of Black murders
2012-04-16, Issue 581
The murder of Trayvon Martin is no isolated tragedy. The murder of Black men and women by police and other state officials and by self-appointed 'keepers of the peace' is standard practice in the United States, and essential to the very fabric of the society. Please join us is pressing these demands to hold the United States government accountable for its failure to fully address the systemic problem of institutionalized racism. You can help by endorsing these demands and raising them to the Obama administration and state and local governments in every venue possible.
South Africa: Basson hearing continues
2012-03-27, Issue 579
Cardiologist Wouter Basson is appearing before the Health Professions Council of SA to face a remaining four charges of unprofessional and unethical conduct. The charges relate to his conduct as a medical doctor when he headed the country's chemical and biological warfare research programme for the defence force in the 1980s and early 1990s during the apartheid era.
South Africa: Residents protect Somali traders from local business owners
2012-03-28, Issue 579
Residents in Khayelitsha came to the defence of Somali traders when local business owners threatened to burn down the Somali-owned shops. In an attempt to enforce a 2008 agreement between Zanokhanyo Retailers Association and Somalian shopkeepers following that year’s xenophobic attacks that no new Somali-owned shops would open, local business owners in Harare threatened to burn down Somali shops to force their closure. But local residents stood in front of the nine shops under threat, preventing the local business owners from taking action.
Zambia: Students severely beaten in Russia
2012-03-20, Issue 578
Three Zambian students were severely beaten in Saint Petersburg Russia on the night of 18 March, leaving one of the students in a coma. Police are studying records of CCTV cameras to establish the circumstances of the incident which many believe was a racist attack. Racist assaults are frequently committed by skinhead gangs, which have grown in number in recent years in Russia and specifically Saint-Petersburg.
South Africa: Learning to be racist in South Africa
2012-03-20, Issue 578
The shocking video Afrikaner Blood by Elles van Gelder and Ilvy Njiokiktjien from the Netherlands has just won first prize in the World Press Photo multimedia category. This slideshow comprises photographs of young white South African teenagers who attend a holiday camp set up by a right-wing racist group.
South Africa: Clashes over school conditions
2012-03-20, Issue 578
Black and coloured Grabouw residents guarded their schools against attack from either side following violent protests, the Cape Times reported on Tuesday. Coloured Pineview residents and black Siteview residents clashed on Monday 19 March. Police had to form a human shield to prevent the groups from entering each other's territories.
South Africa: Zille's education refugees comment draws fire
2012-03-26, Issue 578
As the debate over Helen Zille’s use of the word 'refugees' in relation to the education crisis in the Eastern Cape raged on the social network site Twitter late last week, an ANC provincial coordinator raised eyebrows by calling her a 'racist bitch'. Zille’s remarks on Twitter that Eastern Cape pupils were moving to schools in the Western Cape in order to access better educational resources, and calling them 'education refugees' sparked fierce debate on radio talk-shows and social network sites. Asked why he called Zille a 'racist bitch' on a public site, Mphila said: 'She is racist and is behaving like a bitch.'
Global: German government study promotes campaign against immigrant communities
2012-03-14, Issue 576
The World Socialist Website reports on German study published by the government on young muslims in the country. The study’s publication has become the occasion for a renewed campaign against immigrant communities in Germany. A 'deliberate political campaign seeks to limit the study’s findings to that which can be exploited for the dissemination of xenophobic sentiments. In fact, the 750-page report provides a much more nuanced picture. The fact that the researchers are critical of the government’s integration policy is being swept under the carpet.'
Somalia: Bribery accusations and local demand for Somali spazas puts paid to 2008 agreement
2012-03-14, Issue 576
A 2008 agreement preventing new Somali-owned shops from opening in Khayelitsha was undermined by bribery and the demands of local residents, it emerged at a meeting called on Wednesday to find a solution to recent tensions between local business owners and Somali traders.Recent, belated enforcement of the 2008 agreement reached between the Zanokhanyo Retailers Association and the Somali Retailers Association in the aftermath of the xenophobic attacks that year resulted in two Somali-owned shops being looted and at least 25 others being forcibly closed over the last two weeks.
Global: There are too many foreigners in France, says Sarkozy
2012-03-08, Issue 574
Nicolas Sarkozy has declared there are too many foreigners in France, deliberately using extreme-right rhetoric to regain ground in his difficult re-election battle. The French president is already under attack by religious leaders and from within his own party for veering to the right and stoking anti-Muslim sentiment by forcing the marginal topic of halal meat into the centre of his campaign. He has now vowed to cut immigration by half and limit state benefits for legal migrants.
South Africa: Somali shops closed, looted as 2008 trading agreement enforced in Khayelitsha
2012-03-01, Issue 572
At least five Somali-owned shops in Khayelitsha were forced to close recently as the Zanokhanyo Business Association enforced a 2008 agreement that no new foreign-owned shops should operate in the township following the May 2008 xenophobic attacks. The two Somali-owned shops in Harare that stayed open were looted. David Mohamed, owner of Brothers shop in Harare, said he lost all his stock to the thieves.
Africa: Tintin isn't racist, Belgian court rules
2012-02-22, Issue 571
A Belgian court has rejected an application to ban a colonial-era book about the Congolese adventures of the cartoon character Tintin for breaching racism laws. Documents from the court of first instance in Brussels show that it did not believe the 1946 edition of Tintin in the Congo was intended to incite racial hatred, a criteria when deciding if something breaks Belgium's racism laws. In 2007, Congolese campaigner Bienvenu Mbutu Mondondo launched legal proceedings to ban the book, arguing its portrayal of Africans was racist.
South Africa: Zulu king lashes out at Congolese migrants
2012-02-27, Issue 571
Following controversial utterances made by the Zulu monarch King Goodwill Zwelithini during a speech at the KwaZulu Natal legislature opening, there have been concerns raised about the implications this may have on what are already strained relations between South Africans and foreign nationals, particularly Congolese nationals. He was quoted in the Sowetan newspaper as saying: 'I understand that South Africa is a democratic country and welcomes people from different countries who have run away from their countries for different reasons. As a result, South Africa is home to many Africans but I must express my disappointment at the behaviour of these people.' He said this in reference to the recent marches by the Congolese Freedom and Justice Fighters living in South Africa who marched to the Union Building; ANC’s headquarters, Luthuli House; and parliament in Cape Town to show their dissatisfaction with the South African government's involvement or lack of in the Congolese elections processes.
South Africa: Tension at ET trial
2012-01-31, Issue 568
The trial of murdered rightwing leader Eugene Terre'Blanche resumed in the Ventersdorp Magistrate's Court on 30 January. Just before lunch there was a standoff between AWB supporters attending the trial and black residents over the singing of Bobbeja...
South Sudan: Economic migrants battle xenophobia
2012-01-31, Issue 568
There are about one million Ugandans living in South Sudan, according to the Kampala City Traders’ Association (KCTA). But life is not easy for the Ugandan traders who supply South Sudan with many essential goods. On a side road at the market, a Sout...
South Africa: Student anti-racism poster causes a stir
2012-02-02, Issue 568
The Democratic Alliance Students Organisation (DASO) recently released a controversial poster as part of their anti-racism campaign. The 'In OUR future, you wouldn't look twice' poster shows a naked mixed-race couple embracing. The poster has caused ...
Ethiopia: Israeli school bus driver recorded spewing racist slurs at Ethiopian children
2012-01-23, Issue 566
As thousands of Israelis have been protesting racism directed at Ethiopian Israelis recently, a new recording revealed Wednesday an Israeli school bus driver in Jerusalem spewing racist slurs at schoolgirls of Ethiopian origin. 'People tell you that ...
Africa: Right-wing gunman kills two Africans in Italy
2011-12-14, Issue 563
An Italian man has killed two African street sellers and wounded three others in an apparent racist shooting rampage in the city of Florence before committing suicide, police said. Gianluca Casseri, 50, who Italian officials described as a right-wing...
South Africa: Xenophobia is still alive
2011-12-12, Issue 562
Every once in while, xenophobia against men and women from other African countries living in South Africa hits the headlines. Recently, there were threats in Alexander Township, and not too long ago, Somali businesses were the target. Yet, what’s mis...
South Africa: Russell Tribunal calls for Israeli sanctions
2011-11-08, Issue 557
After sitting in Cape Town at the weekend, where it heard evidence from a range of witnesses, the Russell Tribunal on Palestine declared that Israel was guilty of practising apartheid and called for it to be isolated. The tribunal called on world gov...
Ghana: Seafood restaurant denies 'whites only' policy
2011-11-06, Issue 556
An Italian worker at a restaurant in Ghana under investigation for allegedly operating a 'whites only' policy has told the BBC it was a misunderstanding. Marco Ranaldi said he made 'a joke' about the racial profile of members of the Atlantic Lobsters...
South Africa: Terre'Blanche murder trial enters second week
2011-10-17, Issue 552
The Eugene Terre'Blanche murder trial was expected to enter its second week in the high court sitting in Ventersdorp on Monday. Last week, seven witnesses took the stand. Five of them testified that the two farmworkers accused of killing the Afrikane...
South Africa: Govt. devoted to uprooting xenophobia
2011-09-20, Issue 549
South Africa remains committed to resolving and stamping out the recurring problem of xenophobia in all its forms wherever it manifests itself within the Republic. This was the message from Minister for Public Service and Administration, Mr Richard B...
South Africa: The ebony ceiling and affirmative action
2011-09-13, Issue 547
The South African Civil Society Information Service points to two reports that find that whites dominate management positions in South Africa and that white people continue to be appointed and promoted in empowering positions in the workplace while b...
South Africa: Malema found guilty of hate speech
2011-09-15, Issue 547
A South African court has found Julius Malema, the fireband leader of the youth brigade of the country’s ruling African National Congress (ANC), guilty of hate speech. The court ordered the youth leader to pay costs for singing an apartheid-era song ...
South Africa: Oslo killer copied from SA blog
2011-07-26, Issue 542
Norwegian mass-murderer Anders Behring Breivik is reported to have copied several ideas from a right-wing South African website when he compiled his 1,518-page 'manifesto'. Breivik borrowed liberally from several sources in writing his rambling ideas...
South Africa: Government gets lowest rating on xenophobia
2011-07-05, Issue 538
In a week that saw two Somali traders shot dead in Cape Town and two more in Port Elizabeth, the South African government's handling of xenophobia received the lowest possible rating in a report by the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) Monitoring ...
South Africa: ‘Xenophobic’ committee head lashed
2011-07-04, Issue 537
Opposition MPs and Parliament guests were shocked as the chairwoman of the parliamentary oversight committee on home affairs, Maggie Maunye, implied that foreigners flocking to the country were soaking up resources and preventing South Africans from ...
South Africa: Government must act against xenophobic violence
African Centre for Migration and Society Statement
2011-06-19, Issue 535
'A nation‐wide escalation of threats and violence against foreign traders in townships and informal settlements is spreading across South Africa. The African Centre for Migration & Society (ACMS) calls for the South African government, in collaborati...
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